Enertia

[Amanda_931]

Or, as their web site calls it (a bit pretentiously?),

[size=24]The Science of Enertia[/size]
Seems like I saw double envelope houses in the very old days of interest in solar/highly efficient housing--the 80's maybe?--and dismissed as "interesting but not do-it-yourself."

Doesn't mean it doesn't work.  And it's the kind of thing that the log cabin and other thermal mass guys have been touting for years, coupled with the double envelope.

http://www.enertia.com/science.htm

[Guest(Guest)]

They have at least 3 patents:

1 United States Patent 4,280,479
Sykes, Jr. July 28, 1981
Solar heat collector (not used)

2 United States Patent 4,621,614
Sykes, Jr. November 11, 1986
Heat storage means (The house system - worth reading)
Originally  U.S. patent Ser. No. 478,068, Filed Mar. 23, 1983, now abandoned, entitled
IMPROVED HEAT STORAGE MEANS

3 United States Patent 6,933,016
Sykes, Jr. August 23, 2005
Method of increasing latent heat storage of wood products (wood treatment)

It seems that they have amalgamated a lot of techniques with a common goal.

If I am not wrong, what they have is more elaborated than just one or two techniques, and they have successful practical experience.

I would love to visit one of those houses.

If I would try this way, It would be a D shape house, with a living roof, vertical logs walls inside, a soapstone masonry stove/trombe wall and the solar space on S and strawbale / super insulated external walls on N/E/W.